Mòd nan Lochan Mòra -- The Great Lakes Mòd

By the way, it's 102 degrees in my part of PA right now. Just thought I'd mention that.

Sooo.... I went to my third mòd! My last mòd was a dazzling success beyond my wildest dreams, so I approached this one with more than a little trepidation. I had been preparing for it for quite some time, but the songs were difficult, Mr MacKay says. Something that was new at this mòd for me was the fact that the songs were prescribed. I was very nervous about going to a dance camp away from home in Ohio (starting that night) and so that carried over into my singing and concentration. Oh, and the organizers at the mòd graciously arranged so that I was able to dance as well, in the afternoon.

How the singing went:

Sang Horò Tha Mi Smaointinn. Apparently I didn't do so well on the pitch, and I also messed up the words and had to stop and start over. Not the end of the world, but it rattled me a bit.

Then Gad Ionndrainn. Definitely my best song, and I did well on it, I think.

Next I had a break and then Coille an Fhasaich. I had been having a lot of troubles with the high notes, and that affected the whole song. Not terrible though.

And last of all, my puirt set. This should have been my best since I've been doing it for nearly a year, but I didn't get enough breath to start off with and choked in the first port. Again, not terrible, but definitely not my best.

I received 3rd overall (2nd on the first two and 3rd on the last two). I am neither excited, nor disappointed by these placings. I got excellent feedback, and the subjectivity of it all is most definitely a fact of life, in both Gaelic and in dance. I'm looking forward to taking this feedback and working towards the US Mòd in September.

I was also very lucky in that I had both my mom, my dad, my Gaelic teacher, and my linguistics mentor/friend/dancer person Kathleen Hall there to watch me. Thank you all!

Okay, it's too hot to write any more. I can tell for sure that it's going to be a long while before my next post, but it'll come in due time.

Oh, and can anybody tell me if my title is correct? Should it be Mo Bhlog Bheag or Mo Bhlog Beag. I'm not sure. I should know this but...

For a more general report from ACGA's mòd blog, click here. And yes, I'm in the header photo.

I have some photos from this mòd but they're on my mom's computer and will follow in another post.